jschell wrote:
When you order lunch do you calculate the probability that you will get sick or die from a food borne pathogen?
When you buy car insurance do you calculate your personal risk of injury in death in choosing the rate and coverage?
When you navigate each intersection in your car do you consider the accidents statistics for each intersection? And do you do so based on time of day and environmental factors?
When you walk down the stairs do you calculate your chance of taking a fall? Do you offset the probability of a fall on the stairs versus the physical benefit of taking the stairs versus the elevator?
Etc, etc, etc. ...
None of which has anything to do with: "Of course I organised my life as if I believed I would rise tomorrow, but 'faith' in rising the next morning? No, just probability." BTW: I am using probability in its secular, not mathematical, sense.
jschell wrote:
If you do not in fact calculate the probabilities of the vast number of varying things in your life then you are accepting some facet of your life via "blind faith".
Twaddle. Being observant and careful reduces risk. Ensuring that a restaurant is clean (and the staff likewise) is more rational than calculating the probability that you will get sick or die from a food borne pathogen. Neither eliminates that possibility, but the former is faster and more effective. Similarly, I always take the stairs, but exercise observation and caution, especially when descending. And as a cyclist, I am exceedingly cautious and observant at intersections, especially those without traffic lights.
If people made the effort to read something three times before commenting, blogs would be much more useful places. - Anon.
